was a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, primarily working with modern materials (anything created after 1830). — View all posts by Sarah Hovde
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Comments
A fascinating item; many thanks. You say the cost of the Dickens would have been “a neat $130,000 (130 volumes at $10,000 each)”, but there’s a flaw in that math.
What a wonderful and informative article. I really enjoyed the images, too. Goodwin’s story is a sad one. I love books – especially rare and unique ones – but I cannot imagine the sort of obsession that would drive a man to embezzle funds to pay for his collection and then to commit suicide. Fascinating bit of history!
George D. Sproul was my great-grandfather, and it’s great to see the books I’ve heard about all my life. He was a man with a vision. Both my mother (his granddaughter) and I are writers. It must run in the blood.
Comments
A fascinating item; many thanks. You say the cost of the Dickens would have been “a neat $130,000 (130 volumes at $10,000 each)”, but there’s a flaw in that math.
William Ingram — May 19, 2015
Whoops, thanks for pointing out that typo! The superfluous zero has been deleted.
Sarah Werner — May 19, 2015
What a wonderful and informative article. I really enjoyed the images, too. Goodwin’s story is a sad one. I love books – especially rare and unique ones – but I cannot imagine the sort of obsession that would drive a man to embezzle funds to pay for his collection and then to commit suicide. Fascinating bit of history!
Mimi Matthews — May 20, 2015
George D. Sproul was my great-grandfather, and it’s great to see the books I’ve heard about all my life. He was a man with a vision. Both my mother (his granddaughter) and I are writers. It must run in the blood.
Barbara Sylvain — March 8, 2017